A greyhound named in honour of legendary jockey Lester Piggott could land a syndicate including first-time owners their second Category One success in a year this weekend.
The Horse and Hound Six Syndicate was created by racing enthusiast George Sell for a group of five friends, including ex-jockey Colin Brown who famously guided Desert Orchid to 17 career wins.
Together, they purchased a 12-week-old puppy and named him Long Fellow – nickname of the late Lester Piggott – who is now based with London trainer Matt Dartnall.
After winning the Cowley Puppy Collar in October and finishing runner-up in this year’s Pall Mall, the January ’22 dog has qualified for the final of the 51st M Lambe Construction Birmingham Cup in Memory of Michael Lambe Snr at Perry Barr Stadium.
Worth £12,500 to the winning greyhound, the competition is one of Birmingham’s most prestigious races and features a star-studded line-up including Rioja Bungle, Unanimous Leon, Aayamza Sydney, Tricky Wiggles and Darley Diglake.
After winning his qualifying heat and finishing runner-up in Saturday’s semifinals, the syndicate is dreaming of another big race win.
“When we bought him as a puppy the dream was to own an open class greyhound,” said George. “So, to reach our third Category One final is very pleasing and we’re chuffed with how he’s progressed through the competition.
“He’s getting stronger the older he gets and just about makes the 480m trip – we wouldn’t want to run him over a longer distance.
“Trap three is a great draw for him too – the box we didn’t want was trap one as he’s been struggling to break quickly from there recently. He pinged the start from trap three during the semifinals and ran well to qualify.”
Saturday’s £12,500 final is set to be a close contest, with four of the six finalists separated by just six one hundredths of a second during their respective semi final races.
John Mullins’ Aayamza Sydney currently heads the market having posted the fastest time of the competition on Saturday and progressing to the final with two wins out of two.
“It’s an intriguing final,” said George. “There are three proven early-pace greyhounds in the race with three strong runners that are likely to be challenging late on.
“It’s easy to say a Category One final is competitive, but this one genuinely is with only six spots separating the four fastest qualifiers. A lot of us will be trackside on the night with friends and family and we look forward to the evening.”
Tickets for the 2024 M Lambe Construction Birmingham Cup final in memory of Michael Lambe Snr are available from £8 via www.perrybarr-greyhounds.co.uk. Doors open at 6pm with race one off at 7.01pm.
The night also includes the final of the £20,000 Premier Greyhound Racing St Leger where Greyhound of the Year Droopys Clue bids to become the first dog in the St Leger’s 96-year history to defend his crown.
2024 M Lambe Construction Birmingham Cup Grand Final:
Rioja Bungle, Unanimous Leon, Long Fellow, Aayamza Sydney, Tricky Wiggles and Darley Diglake.
